Cylinder lock and key



Aug. 3, 1954 R. SALLE 2,685,192

CYLINDER LOCK AND KEY Filed Dec. 21 1950 I V In v5)? fari yau/ .Sa/A? 2 Sheiets-Sheet l 3, 1954 R. SALLE 2,685,192

CYLINDER LOCK AND KEY Filed Dec. |21,- 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGS I)? van 7 0k iaau 5a //e Patented Aug. 3, 1954 CYLINDER LOCK AND KEY Raoul Sall, Eu, France, assignor to Socit Fichet Beau & (lie, Paris, France, a corporation. of

France Application December 21, 1950, Serial No. 201,935

Claims priority, application France December 29, 1949 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in safety-locks of the cylinder or barrel type.

According to the present invention, a cylinder lock comprises a cylindrical casing having a flange secured to a plate of the lock and a barrel lodged within said casing, through which the key is obliged to pass in order to actuate the lock; this casing is formed along at least one internal generatrix thereof with a groove or slot with oblique walls for a spring-catch retractible into said barrel under the action of the key; the barrel is adapted to receive in a number of transverse cuts formed therein, fiat parts or tumblers, which are all adapted to pivot about a longitudinal axis and which are formed on one side with an extension bearing against a spring adapted to push back the contour of the tumbler under the catch and on the opposite side with an extension forming a cam adapted to bear in a mortise of the barrel for allowing passage for a rib of a key having an active edge out to a suitable shape, each tumbler being formed at one point of its periphery with a notch for the engagement of the catch in a position such that said notch lies on a common plane with said catch when the tumbler assumes the orientation imparted to it by a corresponding projection of the active edge of the key controlling the lock.

The key may be one having a plurality of ribs with active edges cut to suitable contours and with each characteristic point of the active edge contour there corresponds a tumbler, these tumblers being mounted in parallel planes of the barrel and being controlled by respective ones of the active edges, and said tumblers controlling a common catch or separate catches mounted along a plurality of separate generatrices of the barrel. In a preferred exemplary embodiment, the shank of the key is of H section, the active edges of the ribs corresponding to the four arms of its section being formed of diiferent contours, each pair of ribs on the same side of the web of the shank being adapted to act alternately on tumblers pivoted on a common longitudinal axis, alternately directed in opposite directions and controlling a common catch of the barrel located in the axial plane, which is perpendicular at the middle line to the portion of the mortise engaged by the web of the key.

The advantage of the construction thus defined is that the key is comparatively short while comprising a high number of safety factors. Each tumbler constitutes a safety factor. Moreover, similar active contours may be imparted to a plurality of keys on some of their corresponding ribs, and mutually diifering active contours along the other ribs, and the tumblers controlled thereby. Each key will operate a particular lock, in which the tumblers are notched to properly cooperate with the ribs of said key. It is, however, possible to provide that one of the keys operate a series or all of the locks to act as a serial or as a master key. For this purpose the tumblers, which in this series of locks, or in all of the locks, will have to cooperate with the ribs of different contours, shall be additionally notched to cooperate with the ribs having similar contour on the serial or master key.

According to another feature of the invention, the lock mechanism is mounted between a pair of plates in an independent unit adapted to be positioned bodily under a headpiece for a mortiselock or inserted in a casing and secured therein by the spindle of a lever-type door-handle and by the securing screws of the cylinders on the lock to constitute a case-lock.

The features and advantages of the invention will appear with greater clearness from the ensuing description relating to an exemplary embodiment of a safety lock according to the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is an outer front view of a cylinderlock designed to be used as a mortise-lock;

Figure 2 is a side view with the lock-casing shown in section on line II--II of Figure l and showing the manner in which the cylinder and the mechanism are secured within said casing;

Figure 3 is a view in elevation from the side opposite to that shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is part of Figure 3 with the safety cylinder removed;

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate in elevation and in side view one preferred exemplary embodiment of a four-edged key;

Figure '7 is a view in longitudinal section of a cylinder lock, with the key inserted therein, the barrel being shown in elevation;

Figure 8 is a transverse section on the lin VIIIVIII of Figure 7 with key removed;

Figure 9 is a longitudinal section of the cylinder lock assembly with key removed, on the line IX-IX of Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a transverse section of the cylinder lock on line X-X of Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a view in elevation of a singleedged key;

Figure 12 is a separate view in elevation of a barrel designed for the key of Figure 11; and

Figure 13 is a cross-section on line XIIIXIII of Figure 12.

The lock shown in Figures 1 to 3, comprises a spring biased bolt l and a dead bolt 2 actuated by a mechanism of any known type not illustrated, and mounted between a pair of plates 3 and 4 to form a complete independent unit adapted to be mounted in position as a mortise lock, or to be aflixed as a separate cased unit.

To permit of this last-mentioned type of mounting, the lock is provided as shown with lock-case including a main plate 5, a flange 5 and sides I in which the supporting plates of the mechanism are adapted to fit, the outer plate 4 serving as a cover-plate. The main plate 5 of the case is formed with a bearing boss 8 through which extends the pivot 9 of a latch handle H] actuating the spring biased bolt I and retained by a screw II.

The main plate 5 is formed with an aperture '12 for the insertion of an inner cylidn-er lock 13 carrying a securing flang [4 equivalent in depth to the boss 8. A similar and outer cylinder lock 15 formed with a securing flange i8 is applied against the mechanism plate 4. Both cylinder locks, the setting of which is located by means of locating studs ll projecting from the mechanism plates (see Figure 4) are clamped against said plates by screws 18 the heads of which bear against the main plate 5 and which serve to secure the assembled unit including the cylinder locks and the mechanism against the plate 5 by threaded engagement into holes tapped in the flange 16. These screws are covered by a ringshaped protecting member [9 which surrounds the inner cylinder lock M.

In the example shown, the mechanism includes lower and upper bolt-actuating flat rods 20 and 2|, actuated by a disc 22 in engagement with a pivot rigidly connected with the dead bolt actuating means, and the top and bottom sides of the lock-case are accordingly formed with slots through which said flat rods may extend.

The dead bolt is operated by means of a slotted or notched spindle 23 formed with a pair of diametric slot 24 into which the end of the key is adapted to engage, the safety feature of the lock relying exclusively on the cylinder locks which are both similar, except as to length, and the identical mechanisms of which are to be described presently.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated, and in order to enable the production of locks associated with a master-key, serial keys and individual keys, the key (Figures 5 and 6) is many-edged. For this purpose, the body of the key is formed, first with a thick flange or collar 25 adjacent to the head or ring 25 of the key and formed with notches 2? serving to locate its correct position of engagement in the cylinder, and beyond this notched flange the key is formed with an H-section, i. e. a web 28 and four ribs 29 perpendicular thereto, each rib having its active edge out to the requisite configuration. The web is extended to one side by a bottom rib 3t serving as a setting-locating means and i extended at its free end by a pair of tenons 3! adapted to engage into the notches 24 of the notched spindle 23.

The cylinder locks, both similar as said above, comprise a body in the form of a cylindrical casing l5 the end wall 32 of which, opposit from the securing flange I5, is apertured to conform both with the profile of the H-section of the key before its active edges have been cut and additionally bored at the diameter of the collar of the key as measured across the bottom of the notches 27. An entrance 33 for the key is thus provided and the circumferential margin thereof will further retain the key in its active position for operating the look by engaging the notches 21 as soon as the rotation of the key has been initiated.

Housed in the cylindrical recess of the cylinder body is the cylinder barrel 3d (Figures 7 to 10) which may be made up of more than one part to facilitate the machining steps required in order to house the safety elements therein, e. g in two parts assembled on a diametrical plane of symmetry of th central hole through which the key extends, the profile configuration of this hole corresponding to that of the H-scction of the key body before the edges thereof are cut, and including a fiat milled slot 35 for the web, four grooves 36 for the active edged ribs 29 and a groove 31 for the setting-locating rib 3B of the key.

Formed along each of two opposite generatrices on a diametric plane normal to the web 35 is a deep longitudinal groove 38 and. two end holes 39 into which catches are adapted to engage. Each catch consists of a, strip 69 which is cut edgewise in the form of a double bevel t! and carries at its ends, on a perpendicular axis, rings 52 serving to centre springs 43 urging the catch outwards. The body of the cylinder is formed with two opposite grooves 4 3 triangular in cross section, similar to the edges of the catches, to receive the latter.

Housed in a number of transverse slots 45 milled in the barrel to either side or" the web portion 35 of the central mortise, are tumblers which constitute the safety elements controlling the movements of one of the catches. Each tumbler (Figure 10) consists of a flat element it having a pivotal axis ll formed by a spindle common to all the tumblers lying on one side of the web portion 35, and provided for instance with a threaded end 48 adapted to engage a tapped aperture in the end of the barrel. The outer profile of the tumbler in its intermediate section 58 is coaxial with this pivotal axis and its radius is sufficiently large to prevent the corresponding catch from leaving its position of engagement in the groove of the cylinder; at one point, however, the outer profile of the tumbler is formed with a notch 50 deep enough to receive the catch when retracted in its disengaging position. This profile then extends back towards the centre to define, within th groove 36 of the rib, a cam adapted to be acted on by the edge of the key and at its other end it is formed With a nose 5| adapted to abut a return spring 52. This spring is housed in an angularly-drilled hole 53 in the plane of the transverse milled slot 45 containing the tumbler, and urges said tumbler in rotation, moving the cam downwards into the groove 36 and raising the intermediate section 49 of the tumbler under the catch. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated, the tumblers for each catch, which are located on one side of the web portion 35 of the mortise are pivoted on a common axis or spindle 41, and are alternately directed in one direction and in the other in order to cause their cam to engage into one or the other of the grooves 35 on this side of the web.

Formed in registry in the barrel and in the cylindrical casing at the open end thereof are circumferential grooves, 54 and 55 respectively, which cooperate to provide a recess for the insertion of an annular spring 55 preventing the barrel from being withdrawn from said casing.

When the key is not inserted in the cylinder look, all the tumbler springs 52 cause the tum-- 'blers to rock, lowering their cam portions substantially to the same level as the web part 35 of the mortise. To make it possible for the key, when inserted into the cylinder lock, to rotate the barrel, it is necessary that its catches be disengaged from their grooves. The oblique edges of their cross-section would cause such disengagement in the rotation of the barrel if the catches were not applied against the profile 49 of the tumblers. To enable disengagement of the catches, it is necessary that a notch 50 of each tumbler assume a position underlying the strip portion of the catches, to allow said strip portion to be lowered towards the axis of the barrel. When a key having the properly-cut edges is pushed home into the mortise, the result is that the depth of rib brought beneath the cam of each groove is such that the tumbler is obliged to rock until its notch has reached a position underlying the catch. Thereupon, rotation of the key which tends to carry the barrel with it, causes the barrel to slide over the inclined sides of its groove and the catch is retracted into the notches of all the tumblers during the rotation of the barrel. The end tenons 3! of the key engaged into the notches of the spindle 23 of the lock rotate said spindle and cause it to operate the lock mechanismv and the bolts. The key which, from the outset of the rotation, is retained due to the engagement of the circumferential margin of the key entrance aperture into the notches 2"! in the collar, remains imprisoned in the lock until the barrel has completed its revolution, thus restoring the catches into their grooves, whereupon the key may be withdrawn.

The described construction makes for greatly simplified manufacture, in that all the tumblers are cut to a similar shape save for the notches therein. Cylinder locks may thus be manufactured in serie with unnotched tumblers. For a particular lock, the edg configuration of the respective ribs of the key are chosen and these ribs cut accordingly. The barrel being extracted from the lock, the key is now inserted in the barrel, making the tumblers rotate to their unlocking positions. The tumblers thus abutted against the ribs of the key can be notched together by milling a groove through the tumblers in the radial plane of the barrel which will contain the corresponding catch. The notches thus have different settings on the respective tumblers according to the pivotal displacement imparted to them by the configuration of the active edge of the key.

In a set of locks corresponding to difierent keys, several locks may be made to correspond to a common key during production, by inserting this key successively into the respective barrels which the key is to control, and each time milling the notches in the tumblers of all these barrels. Should some of the barrels have already previ ously been milled for some other key, then some of the tumblers will possess two notches. The lock in which they will be mounted may then be actuated with either of two difierent keys. This makes it possible to provid groups of locks responding to individual keys, serial keys and a master key. Moreover, owing to the presence of the four ribs for the active edges of the key, the variations in configuration may involve one, two, three or four of the ribs, thereby greatly facilitating and multiplying the possible combinations.

A similar device comprising a barrel and turnblers would of course be applicable to keys pro- 6 vided with active ribs differently disposedje. g. v-shaped ribs, and even a flat key having a simple locating rib. Figs. 11 and 13 show one example of this possibility.

The key consists of a strip 5? out along one edge 58 and formed with a rib 59 on the other, terminated by the tenons 3! and notches at 21 ahead of the collar 25 which reinforces the junction with the head 26, so that the key acts only with one active edge.

The mortised barrel til corresponding to the largest section of the key is formed with parallel spaced transversely milled cuts 61 containing tumblers 92 all in the same direction, and pivoted on a spindle 63 perpendicular to the mortise serving as a common pivot for all the tumblers. Each tumbler has part of its profile 64 coaxial with the spindle and terminates at one side in a nose $5 urged upwards by a spring 65 and terminates at the other side by a part 6'! forming a cam adapted to engage the active edge of the key, this part 61 operating within the mortise and being urged deeper into it by the spring 65. The groove 68 for the catch lies on the diametric plane of the spindle 53 and the tumbler profiles are formed with notches 5% brought into this plane by the action of the active edges of suitable depth of the key. i

This construction provides a lesser degree of safety combinations than the former, but also lends itself to the construction of individual and serial keys and a master key, albeit with less flexibility than the first described construction.

It is to b understood that the invention is not restricted to the exemplary embodiments illustrated and described, and that many alterations, omissions and additions may be made in, from and to the details shown without departing from the scope of invention.

What I claim is:

l. A cylinder lock and key comprising in combination, a cylindrical casing adapted to be fixed externally onto a lock plate coaxially to an operating spindle of a lock and having a bottom provided with a central aperture for the entrance of the key, at least a longitudinal groove with sloping side walls in the internal surface of said cylindrical casing, a rotary barrel in said casing, at least a longitudinal groove in said barrel, a catch mounted in said barrel groove spring-urged radially outwards and formed with sloping sides for engaging said casing, an axial mortise in said barrel for said key, a number of transverse slots in said barrel opening into said barrel-groove and mortise, in each of said slots a transverse tumbler mounted on a longitudinal axis in said barrel, formed with a locking profile adapted to retain said catch in its projected position and extending around said axis to an end cam profile springurged into said mortise, in each of said tumblers a notch adapted to receive the catch in its retracted position, said notches being combinationally distributed along the locking profiles of said tumblers, and a key having a shank of the same cross section as the mortise adapted to engage the spindle of the lock through said barrel and said tumblers in said mortise and combinationally shaped to direct all the tumblers in alignment of the notches under said catch.

2. A cylinder lock and key according to claim 1, in which in combination the shank of said key comprises a central web, shaped at its end to form tenons adapted to engage notches at the end of the spindle of the lock, having at least an active edge, and formed adjacent to its head with notches adapted to engage a circumferential margin of the bottom of said cylindrical casing extending between cut portions of the entrance of the key.

3. A cylinder lock and key according to claim 1, in which the key has a shank formed with two symmetrically extending ribs formed with active edges and the tumblers form two symmetrically directed sets pivotally mounted on a common longitudinal axis in the plane of symmetry of the barrel with their cam profiles respectively projecting into the portion of the mortise corresponding to said ribs.

4. A cylinder lock and key according to claim 1, comprising a second catch in diametrically opposed position to the said first catch, and tumblers for said second catch symmetrically disposed with respect to the tumblers for said first catch.

5. A cylinder-lock and key comprising in combination, a cylindrical casing adapted to be fixed externally onto a lock plate coaxially to an operating spindle of said lock and having a bottom provided with a central aperture for the entrance of the key, two diametrically opposed longitudinal grooves with sloping side walls in the internal surface of said cylindrical casing, a rotary barrel in said casing, two diametrically opposed longitudinal grooves in said barrel, two catches mounted respectively in said barrel grooves, spring-urged radially outwardly and formed with sloping sides for engaging said grooves in the casing, an axial mortise having an H-form with a web part perpendicular to the middle diametrical plane through said catches and symmetrically directed lateral parts formed in said barrel for receiving said key, two series of transverse slots in said barrel respectively located on both sides of said web part of the mortise and opening both in lateral parts of the mortise and in one of said barrel-grooves, tumblers located in each of said slots, in each series of said slots alternately directed in opposite directions and mounted on a common axis in said middle plane of said barrel, each tumbler being formed with a, locking profile adapted to retain one of said catches in its projected position and extending around said axis to an end cam profile spring-urged into one of the ltaeral parts of said mortise, in each of said tumblers, a notch adapted to receive the corresponding catch in its retracted position, said notches being combinationally distributed along the locking profiles of said tumblers, and a key having a shank formed with a web and lateral ribs opposed by pairs within the limits of the same H-cross section as said mortise, adapted to engage the spindle of the lock through said barrel and the tumblers of a series of tumblers by each of its ribs, said ribs being combinationally edgeshaped to direct all the tumblers which look either of said catches in alignment of their notches under said catches.

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